Dan Bylsma and His Glasses: “Most of the Nicknames for Sidney Crosby Have Originated Out of Philly”

Earlier today, in the Shit City, players and coaches met with the assembled media, who mostly asked questions that were as generic as they were useless.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Dan Bylsma and Peter Laviolette didn’t flip out and hurl shoes at members of the press (I probably would have, given some of the banal questions thrown up to the podium), nor did they want to talk much about Gutlessgate™. But they did say this:

Penguins coach Dan Bylsma:

What about all the name calling over the last couple of weeks?

“I’m surprised you’re talking about name calling in the last two weeks, because Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have been called names for a long time in this rivalry and against this team. So it’s not a new thing, it’s not something that came out of the woodwork and it’s the first time names have been used. Most of the names for Sidney Crosby have originated out of Philly and their fans and so forth.”

“It’s about playing hockey now, and that name calling just fades away.”

“I’ve got a lot of respect for Peter as a coach and what he’s done, regardless of the name calling.”

Boss Peter Laviolette:

Has you opinion at all changed of that move [for Penguins to put Vitale out]?